Under the Live Music Act can I have amplified music up to 11pm?

Q. Under the Live Music Act, can I have amplified live music up to 11pm for 150 people in my beer garden?

A. That depends upon whether your beer garden is shown on your licensed plans. If you are permitted to sell alcohol (and not just have your customers consume it) in the beer garden then live music up to 11pm and for an audience of no more than 200 will not be a licensable activity – additionally any live music-related conditions on your Premises Licence will not apply. If your beer garden is not shown at all on your licensed plans then you can benefit from a separate provision of the Live Music Act that relates to work places. This is because whilst your beer garden is not considered part of the licensed area to sell alcohol, it is nevertheless a workplace and workplaces under the Act can also have live music until 11pm for audiences of up to 200. The only difference is that any conditions on the associated Premises Licence, if they impact on the beer garden, will still apply because the work place exemption under the Act does not suspend live music-related conditions. Lastly, if for some reason your beer garden is shown on your licensed plans but you are not permitted to sell alcohol there, and you do not already have permission on your Licence for live music outside, you will have to apply for a Temporary Event Notice. Remember also that the above applies to amplified music and that there is a universal exemption for unamplified music anywhere up until 11pm (with no audience limit).